Hugo hated that she was sick. People opened their mouths left and right, telling him her condition wasn't normal. Like a parrot, the only thing the doctor Anna said was that she was looking for a cure. Indeed, the old man's medical skills seemed to be different from other people.
"I have no intention of meeting this doctor. Not only do you dislike the idea of me meeting him, you also don't want to either. Am I right?" (Lucia)
"...You are right." (Hugo)
"Could this doctor have harmed you in the past? Is there a reason to have someone you dislike so much around you?"
There were several complicated reasons as to why Hugo kept Philip alive. The biggest reason was that he owed him his brother's life.
"I owe him a life. My brother survived several times thanks to him."
Of course, there was a secondary reason. Philip knew all of the dirty laundry of the Taran Family. The existence of Philip made Hugo not forget the darkness he had inside. Until the day Philip died, Hugo had to live with the discomfort of his soles treading on sand.
Hugo put up with this as punishment towards himself and atonement towards his late brother. However, no matter the reason, if Philip was ever judged to be dangerous, Hugo would not hesitate to eliminate him.
However, for now, to him, the old man was nothing more than a mere doctor. When the old man opened his mouth, he was infuriating with his 'bloodline this' and 'bloodline that' but the old man was truly acting according to the will of the late Duke, and as his family had done for generations.
When it came to continuing the lineage, as long as Hugo didn't cooperate, that was the end of that. And as for meeting Damian, Hugo had completely blocked off that path. So in the end, the old man was just clinging to life.
"I see." (Lucia)
Lucia's doubts were dispelled and she felt reassured. The benefactor from her dream was not a bad person.
"But you said he knows the cure." (Hugo)
"Yes. But you do not trust this doctor. Will you able to trust him with my treatment?" (Lucia)
"..."
An old man who was nothing more than a mere doctor. Even though Hugo belittled Philip this way, he still felt somewhat uneasy. He wouldn't be relieved at all if he left his wife's treatment in the old man's hands. But Philip's medical skills were true. The old man wasn't one to say he could treat something when he couldn't.
"To be honest, I know the cure." (Lucia)
"What?" (Hugo)
"Well, I missed the chance to tell you at first. And after that, I was angry at you telling me to treat it at all costs, so I didn't tell you. What I mean is, I don't need the doctor's help."
"..."
Hugo felt both relieved and stupefied. His feelings were complicated. The more he knew about her, the more mysterious she felt. His wife was mild and gentle. But at unexpected times, she broke off that mold and threw him off balance.
"I am not sick. I have no problem in my daily life and my health is fine. I can treat it at any time and not treating it is of my own will."
"Is it because of me? Because I said I don't want a child..."
"I understand where you're coming from. So it's fine. We can take our time and think it over. If you don't want to, then I don't want to either. But I won't treat it without telling you first."
'But...your body isn't the problem.'
Hugo couldn't bring himself to tell her she couldn't have a child.
'If she knows, she might leave me.'
He felt like he was slowly sinking into a muddy pit with its depths unknown.
'Why was I born with this body?'
Until now, he had thought it was fortunate that he couldn't leave a descendant behind. But now, he realized it was a curse. A curse that did not allow him to have a normal family with the woman he loved like other people could.
He recalled the face of his brother telling him that he had a woman he wanted to marry. If his brother knew that his son was born, would he still be happy after learning the secrets behind his son's birth?
He would. If it was his brother, he would accept it and think only of the happiness in the future.
Rather, Hugo envied his brother. The guy fell in love without knowing it was his half-sister and died without knowing till the end. If he had to perform the sickening act of feeding his blood to someone else, Hugo didn't want a child. He felt like the moment he did that, he would really become a monster.
It was already too late to use this method with her anyways but even if he could, he didn't want to.
"You can do as you like." (Hugo)
Her treatment was completely out of his hands. Hugo couldn't tell her to treat it or not treat it. He didn't want to give her hope of getting pregnant by telling her to treat it, and he didn't want her to think he was against having children by telling her not to treat it.
"Come here."
Hugo spread his arms. Lucia gave a small laugh and stood up from the sofa to walk towards him. When she got within his reach, he pulled her into his embrace.
She fell onto his legs with a thump and Hugo wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled his head in her ample breasts.
"Anything else happen?" (Hugo)
"No. Ah...there was a letter from Damian."
"...A letter comes every day."
"It's not every day. It's once or twice a month."
Once Damian became the topic of conversation, Lucia's eyes began to twinkle. Hugo was still not pleased by her excessive attention to the boy. But as time passed, he became more understanding of their mother-son bond and was more forgiving.
"What did the boy say?"
"He says he's doing well."
Lucia began to bombard him with details of Damian's academy life that she'd read from the letter. Hugo chuckled as he remembered the report he received some time ago. It said that the boy wore the red scarf she sent him every day until the weather got warmer.
"You said when you saw Damian for the first time, you felt like you were seeing me, right?"
"Yes. It felt like I was seeing you as a child."
Her as a child. How would it feel to see a little child that was the very painting of her childhood? How would a child without evidence of his cursed blood, without black hair or red eyes, look? Hugo's chest tightened.
He could give her an abundance of wealth and power but he couldn't give her a child. What if this hurt her later on? What could he do if she implored him to have a child? Hugo felt as though he was wandering an eternal maze with no way to get out.
"Anna, your employment contract has been terminated. You will be given a temporary employment contract for the time being."
Jerome's tone had a certain edge to it. Anna replied weakly and looked through the document on the table one by one. She then signed a lifelong confidentiality agreement to keep the events from her time as doctor, secret.
"You have broken our trust. You will not be allowed to go out until your temporary employment is over and your contact will be limited to a minimal amount of people. You are forbidden from meeting the doctor."
"...Yes."
"Even after your employment is over, you will be watched to see whom you meet with. This will continue until we are sure that you will adhere strictly to the contract of confidentiality you have signed. I suggest you do not act in any manner that would create doubts."
Living under surveillance with no known end. Anna realized how much of a mistake she'd made. Until she came to the Ducal House, she had little to no experience with treating nobles. She had no idea of the rules of the noble world and the habits of those living in it.
When she lived under the Duke, no one dared to treat her carelessly. They were all amicable and a few of her superiors treated her with respect. But she didn't conduct herself cautiously as a noble's doctor and was complacent. She would probably find out later, just how much she had been treated with generosity and humanely.
"If possible, can I meet Sir Philip one last time? He has taught me a lot. I would like to give him my last greetings."
"I will ask Master."
* * *
Philip knew something had gone wrong when Anna didn't contact him for a day, and when she didn't find him till the Duke returned, he knew it had completely gone astray.
When one looked at the Duchess' current situation, one could assume that the Duchess would be desperate for a child. Hence, Philip thought that if the Duchess knew there was a cure, she would jump at the opportunity.
He couldn't tell where things started to go wrong. Anna came to see him about ten days after the Duke returned, looking rather crest fallen.
"Milady refuses to meet you, Philip. By now, his Grace the Duke has probably heard of the situation and knows everything. Do not worry. I explained it well." (Anna)
A failure. Philip had already guessed so but when it was confirmed, he became frustrated. How come? How could he stop here when his goal was right in front of him?However his face did not reveal any of his internal anxiety.
"Anna, you are going through such a hard time because of me." (Philip)
"No. I was the one who was thoughtless. Sir Philip and I cannot meet anymore. I will also be quitting my post very soon." (Anna)
"Oh? Then Anna is receiving all the punishment from this. I feel bad, this happened because of me."
'This is the worst.'
To think Anna would be resigning as from her post as doctor. This meant his access to the Duke would be completely gone.
"It is a position more than I deserved. Everything is going back to its place." (Anna)
"When you talked to the Madam, you should not have said that I was the Duke's doctor. If his Grace the Duke says not to meet, the Duchess cannot readily agree to do so." (Philip)
"In any case, one cannot meet you and avoid the eyes watching you."
"Well, that is true."
Philip appeared outwardly convinced but inwardly he clicked his tongue. What an inflexible woman. Because there were eyes on him, the best chance was when the Duke of Taran was absent. If the Duchess was firmly decided on seeing Philip, no one other than the Duke of Taran had the authority to stop it.
Of course, the Duke would hear of it later but if it means that he could talk to the Duchess, Philip would do whatever he could.
"So, what do plan to do after quitting? If you quit, it's a great loss of talent, even for the Ducal House." (Philip)
"Talent you say. I couldn't find a cure for Milady and did nothing but prescribe headache medicine once or twice a month. On the contrary, I was over compensated." (Anna)
"...Headache?"
Philip's eyes lit up momentarily.
"Migraines, it's a common symptom among women."
"Ah yes. It is a common symptom among women indeed."
A touch of madness appeared in Philip's eyes but disappeared as fast as it came. Anna didn't discover anything.
"I know a very good prescription for headache. Perhaps you can call it compensation but I give it as a gift. The effect is really good." (Philip)
"Isn't that also part of your family's vison? Such a precious thing..."
"I have no intention of making a living through medicine but Anna cannot live like me. If a good medicine can be of use to many people then it's a good thing."
"Ah. Philip. Thank you so much. Even till the end, you take care of me."
"The prescription will be sent down in a few days. This time, the prescription will have all the herbs listed so you don't have to worry about that part."
After Anna left, a small smile spread across Philip's lips as he mumbled to himself.
"Well then, shall I make a headache medicine?"
Never losing sight of even the smallest chance. This was Philip's way of life.
Philip never did anything that would cause people to be suspicious of him. If he seemed even the slightest bit dangerous, the Duke of Taran would not have spared his life. The Philip that the Taran Duke knew was merely a stubborn and foolish old doctor.
The allied relationship between the Taran family and Philip's family was a relationship at knife's-edge. So the method of survival Philip chose was to lower himself.
Without Philip's family, the Taran bloodline could not continue but Philip never tried to use that fact. The alliance between the two families could only last in the past because their interests aligned.
For generations, many lunatics headed the Taran family. Most seemed fine on the outside but inwardly they had a few screws lose. The late Duke was also something else. The only way Philip survived was by humoring the late Duke's feelings. Compared to the late Duke, the current Taran Duke's nature was rather clean.
The medicine to neutralize the mugwort's efficacy was a final product made through repeated experiments filled with trial and error. The small treatments used before the final result were all written down in the notebook passed down from generation to generation.
'Since the Duchess knows the vanilla scent...it has to be removed.'
Of course, the efficacy would fall. It would also take twice as much to neutralize the mugwort's efficacy in one to three years and the possibility of pregnancy would also fall significantly. The rest was up to the heavens.
However, the heavens had never betrayed Philip before. It wasn't a lie to say he knew a very effective medicine for headache. There was certainly such a medicine in his family's vision.
All he had to do was make a new drug by mixing the prescription of the headache medicine and that of the neutralizing medicine. It may take some time but his talent in medicine was acknowledged by even his late father who was stingy with praise.
* * *
Sometime later, Anna got her hands on the prescription for the headache medicine. Philip left Roam not long after she received it. As always, the eyes watching Philip followed him till he had left the city of Roam completely, then they withdrew their surveillance.
Anna looked at the prescription in wonder.
"So one could combine herbs this way. How revolutionary."
She tested it on herself when she got a headache and the effect went beyond expectations.
Usually when one took medicine for headache, the heavy feeling in one's head would continue for a short while but when she took this medicine, her head felt light and clear, like waking up in the morning after a refreshing sleep.
Anna began prescribing this medicine to the women of the castle that complained of headaches and their reactions were no different from Anna's. Sometimes the women that suffered from frequent migraines would flock to Anna to ask for a month's worth of medicine.
When Lucia called Anna in for a headache, Anna brought in the new drug.
"Anna, the medicine this time works really well."
As Lucia's periodic migraines tended to increase her irritability, Lucia truly admired the quick calming effect of the medicine.
"If you like it, I can make a sufficient amount before I leave."
"I'd appreciate that."